Eight teams arrived in town this week to compete in the NCAA Division II Soccer National Championships at Blanchard Woods Park. The semi-finals for the four men’s and four women’s teams will be held Thursday and the championship games will take place on Saturday. The event is hosted locally by Columbia County and the Peach Belt Conference.

Thanksgiving: everyone’s favorite holiday. Just the right length, all the food we can hold, and time to relax before that other holiday season begins. So, let’s pretend we are children again and answer the age-old question: What were you thankful for this Thanksgiving? Was it something special, or the usual health, family, “good food, good meat, good Lord, let’s eat”?

There is something about U. S. Rep. John Barrow that drives normally even-tempered politicians into a frenzy.

Ever since he upset Republican incumbent Max Burns in 2004 for the 12th District seat, the state’s GOP establishment has made it a priority to drive Barrow out of Congress.

They are still trying.

In 2005, after taking control of the General Assembly, Republicans redrew the 12th District boundary lines to remove Clarke County, where Barrow was raised and served for 14 years on the county commission.

It’s Thanksgiving time again. What a great holiday. Why is it, then, this day has almost been forgotten by the advertising world?

Apparently, the holiday season starts the first of October by printing ads for Halloween. Then towards the end of the month, Christmas commercials are being shown. Notice anything missing?

That’s right. The third Thursday in November, the day we’re supposed to give thanks for all the good things in our life, the day that immediately hits your taste buds with promises that once a year you can stuff yourself with as much as your stomach can hold.

It’s true that there’s no place like home for the holidays. With the temperature dropping, there’s nothing like bundling up with the family around the fire to enjoy some holiday cheer. However, the open hearths, candles and holiday cooking also bring an increased risk for house fires.

According to the U.S. Fire Administration, an estimated 2,000 Thanksgiving Day fires in residential buildings occur annually in the United States, resulting in an estimated average of five deaths, 25 injuries and $21 million in property damage. The leading cause of these fires is cooking.

The election is over and we know who our president and members of Congress are going to be. Let’s take a few minutes and look at some of the other winners and losers in Georgia politics.

Winner: Gov. Nathan Deal.

After he took a beating on the T-SPLOST transportation tax, the governor recovered to lead the charge on the charter school constitutional amendment, approved by more than 58 percent of the state’s voters.

Veterans Day, 2012, is an opportunity to once again recognize the significant contributions of the millions of our citizens whose military service has had a profound effect on history. It is an opportunity to remember all the freedoms we, the people of this great nation, are fortunate enough to enjoy.

It is an opportunity to thank those who have answered the call of duty to protect those freedoms, to honor them and show our gratitude for their sacrifices.

Regardless of how the presidential race between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney plays out, Georgia Republicans should have something significant to celebrate the day after the election.

Just eight years after the GOP took control of the General Assembly in the 2004 elections, they are poised to win more than two-thirds control of both legislative chambers (that’s 120 seats in the House of Representatives and 38 in the Senate).

Halloween has passed, but you might need to be afraid for another reason. You might need to be afraid for the future of good government. I’m not talking about if Obama were to get re-elected. I’m talking about something closer to home; a local race.